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Harvard University Honors Kehinde Wiley Who Painted Obama

Nigerian artist, Kehinde Wiley who was picked by
former President Barack Obama to paint his portrait, was last Thursday
honoured with the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal by Harvard University.

Florence
Ladd, Kenneth Chenault, Shirley Ann Jackson, Pamela Joyner, Bryan
Stevenson, Dave Chappelle, and Colin Kaepernick, were also honored over
their good works in their different careers. Same award was conferred on
Muhammad Ali in 2015 and Maya Angelou in 2014. The W.E.B. Du Bois Medal
is Harvard’s highest honour in the field of African and African
American studies.

Recall also that two months after artist
Kehinde Wiley’s official portraits of former U.S. President Barack Obama
and former first lady Michelle Obama’s debuted at the Smithsonian
Institute’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., Kehinde Wiley
earned a spot as one of Time’s Most Influential People of 2018.

“Historically,
portraiture has always been about saying yes to things that we want to
celebrate, but I think also the commissioned portrait has often times
been about a society saying, ‘Who are the people we collectively want to
honor?’ and particularly with the presidential portrait, this is the
highest aspect of that tradition,” Wiley told Time in a recent
interview. “It’s been — I can’t tell you — an extraordinary honor to be
able to participate in that.”

This year, the Obamas made history
not only as the country’s first African-American presidential couple
featured in the gallery but also for selecting the first
African-American painters to receive a presidential portrait commission
from the museum.

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Harvard University Honors Kehinde Wiley Who Painted Obama

Nigerian artist, Kehinde Wiley who was picked by
former President Barack Obama to paint his portrait, was last Thursday
honoured with the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal by Harvard University.

Florence
Ladd, Kenneth Chenault, Shirley Ann Jackson, Pamela Joyner, Bryan
Stevenson, Dave Chappelle, and Colin Kaepernick, were also honored over
their good works in their different careers. Same award was conferred on
Muhammad Ali in 2015 and Maya Angelou in 2014. The W.E.B. Du Bois Medal
is Harvard’s highest honour in the field of African and African
American studies.

Recall also that two months after artist
Kehinde Wiley’s official portraits of former U.S. President Barack Obama
and former first lady Michelle Obama’s debuted at the Smithsonian
Institute’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., Kehinde Wiley
earned a spot as one of Time’s Most Influential People of 2018.

“Historically,
portraiture has always been about saying yes to things that we want to
celebrate, but I think also the commissioned portrait has often times
been about a society saying, ‘Who are the people we collectively want to
honor?’ and particularly with the presidential portrait, this is the
highest aspect of that tradition,” Wiley told Time in a recent
interview. “It’s been — I can’t tell you — an extraordinary honor to be
able to participate in that.”

This year, the Obamas made history
not only as the country’s first African-American presidential couple
featured in the gallery but also for selecting the first
African-American painters to receive a presidential portrait commission
from the museum.

Thanks For Reading! Please Support us...

Kevin Djakpor Blog is editorially independent - our journalism is free and accessible. But the revenue we get from advertising is falling, so we increasingly need our readers like you to support us. Support Kevin Djakpor Blog with as little as $1

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